First off i would like to that NetGalley and Head of Zeus for providing me with this ARC. I was expecting your typical rom-com book. But instead I got the chance to read a very unique and eccentric book. This story is about 3 friends that work for a newspaper. They decide to sign up for a 24 hour dating that PROMISES that you’ll find your soulmate after your 24 hour date. I found the characters because like me (unfortunately lol) they have exhausted all means of finding love. Each of the characters are completely different which gives the novel a completely different dynamic from other rom-com books. Milo is a homosexual who thinks he has dating every eligible man in town. Tamara is a divorced mother of 3 kids. Saffie has just never been in love…ever. Will they find their soulmate? I loved how all 3 of the characters were different in their own ways, besides not being in love, but yet the author was able to create 3 different stories twine together in a creative way. It was also a fun take on tropes and using many of them. Ultimately, this book has some hilarious moments and sometimes pulls at your heart strings.

This book was super cute! I enjoyed getting to see each persons POV and individual love story. I also enjoy that romance wasn’t the only plot, each character had other things going on. I’m glad that each character got their happy ending and found myself smiling throughout!

This was a fun, fast paced read but unfortunately, I don’t think it was for me.

First of all, I actually liked the characters; especially Milo, and the found family aspect is always a win for me.

The first chapter, even the first line, of a book should be engaging and make the reader want to continue. I started this book and was hit with lacklustre dialogue and talk about aliens for a newspaper interview that I wasn’t interested in at all, even after reading the next few chapters.

In my opinion, there was too much being squeezed into one book, with the three different stories and especially the amount of newspaper info dump (that I really think could’ve been skipped).

I think in general, the writing just didn’t hit the mark for me, making it a struggle to continue reading. The idea behind the book is extremely promising, but I think the execution could’ve been more refined.

Overall, a light hearted and quick read, but not for me!

Thank you Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While I can see the appeal of this book, it was just not for me. There were certainly parts I enjoyed about it and found cute as a whole i just didn’t connect enough with the relationships to care about the book altogether. The writing was good with an unconventional plot and genuinely good twists, to me it felt like it dragged on a bit too much. I definitely enjoyed the friendships more than the romances, but out of the three povs, only one really had me invested in the character which made the other two thirds of the book feel too long.

I would recommend this book to someone looking for a cute, and quirky romance with your non typical romcom main characters and a stronger emphasis on the platonic relationships than the romantic.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and honestly i'm so glad I did. It's not a book a would normally go for, based on the description, but it sounded cute and quirky with a good amount of romance so I was excited to read!

The book intertwines our three main characters: Saffie, Milo, and Tamara. I noticed the ARC I was given doesn't match up with the Goodreads description but i'm going based off what I read! They're friends who work at the same quirky, family-run mag in small town England. Each with their own reasons for searching for love and each with their own negative experiences with love.

I loved the themes of friendship, family, and community throughout. The characters were quirky and used a lot of British slang (as a non-Brit this was tricky at times but mostly just really fun to read). The book tackles more than just the romance side of things, as we dive deeper into each of the friends' lives and personal struggles.

What I didn't love about the book:
- It took almost the entire first half to actually get to the 24 hour dating bit and romantic relationships
- The pacing was all over the pace, going from incredibly slow to quite fast, back to slow-moving
- Only one of the three love stories felt deeper + believable, the other two were quite surface-level for me
- Saffie's ex was problematic, without giving away spoilers, I just felt like that subplot should have been written differently

Overall this was what I would describe as a cozy read. I wouldn't necessarily classify it as a romance but for those of you who enjoy a heartwarming plot about friendship and family alongside some romance, this is the book for you!

This books was such a cute and a fast read, it’s perfect for summer days when escapism in on your mind. It’s my first book by the author and I will say that it’s very very well written, with great character development and you get so easily engulfed in the story. I LOVED the friendship between Saffie, Tamara and Milo,
The concept of this story is so unique and I would not say no to try a 24 hour dating agency.

If you want to read a real, cute and fun story with realistic friendships and character development, this is the book for you!

This was a fun story, pretty lightweight overall. It follows three friends and coworkers (and family) as they struggle with love enough that they all give the dubious 24 Hour Dating Agency a shot.

Saffie, Milo, and Tamara are all at different places romantically, and I liked how we got to dive into each situation and see what they needed. It was interesting to see them in their individual lives and also how they are with one another. They're all likeable and good friends, and it was impossible not to root for them all.

Each was a different kind of heroine/hero looking for a specific kind of partner (and, of course, needing someone completely different than what they expected).

There were some very funny moments, and some touching moments. I'd rate the conflict level at medium. This isn't a stressful story, but it still grabs you and takes you on a journey.

The 24 Hour Dating Agency was a cute story. Three friends sign up for a new type of dating service. The founder of the agency is a psychologist and she matches people based on personality questionnaires. They can't say anything about their looks or employment on the forms. The two people meet for the first time and then spend the next 24 hours doing activities that the agency signed them up for. It's a bunch of shorter dates that make up one long date. Because this is a romance, we get 3 happily ever afters! There is a rollercoaster of emotions along the way, and the whole book is sprinkled with witty dialogue.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to NetGalley, the Publisher and Mary Jayne Baker for providing me an ARC of this novel.
I thought this book was super sweet and fun 💜

Starting this, I was really confused. My thought process was "I requested a contemporary romance why do we have aliens?" The actual plot took a long time to pick up speed. I didn’t really like the book until they went to the agency. At the end of the book, the epilogue felt rushed and, although it was cute, I wanted something else.
It was also predictable, though most romances are predictable, so it isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it still peeves me. Although, Saffie's plot twist did shock me.
The three main characters were fun. However, my favourite character/plot line was Tamara's. There were points in the story where I could have cried if I were having a bad day. <spoiler> Andy can fucking choke. He does not deserve Tamara's forgiveness nor Nat's love. </spoiler>
Although I enjoyed the 3 characters, having three main characters was a little too much. Sometimes I just wanted to get back to another's perspective and Milo's story was less developed than Saffie and Tamara's. I think them having a book each and making it a series would've allowed for more development of each character.
Overall, a fun and fast read.

The 24 Hour Dating Agency by Mary Jayne Baker was not the rom-com I expected. Two siblings and their friend are disappointed by their experiences and failures on dating apps. They’re also pretty focused on saving their unconventional newspaper from takeover by a lifestyle magazine conglomerate that wants to increase circulation by changing things.

The friends sign up for the 24-hour dating agency on a whim – well, one of them wants to write a story but the other two are desperate for validation and, maybe, love.

It works better as women’s fiction than as a romcom. As a romcom, the pacing is off. The author has to write three HEAs but she uses the first half of the book to talk about the protagonists’ failed relationships, the newspaper challenges, and the ex-husband of one of the siblings. It’s all well done and interesting but still difficult to squeeze three HEAs into the back half of the story.

Honestly, we just don’t get to see enough of the love interests/HEAs for them to be meaningful or for us to even connect with the characters. This would have been great, though, as a three story series, which would have allowed a lot more space for character development.

I received a digital ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, the Publisher and Mary Jayne Baker for providing me an ARC of this novel.
I found this to be a really enjoyable storyline, I was invested in the characters and their outcomes and I would definitely recommend it to a friend!

To be honest, I DNF'd this one at about 30%. While I didn't feel like the multi-perspective was hard to follow, I found myself just not loving it. And totally a me thing - but the British lingo / phrases / words just kept throwing me off. I love found family & solid friendships, but I think I wanted more romance with the whole plot being the dating agency thing and the book just started slow.

Thank you to Head of Zeus, Aria, & Netgalley for an ARC in exchange or an honest review.

With thanks to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for the ARC, this review is my personal, unbiased opinion.

4* An excellent book about three friends who are fed up with their single life. After being alone for so long, enduring bad experiences of blind dates, speed dating and internet dating, all three have decided to enrol with an agency which offers a guaranteed matchmaking success rate after a date lasting 24-hours. Their resulting dates are surprising, even shocking, and definitely not love at first sight. 24-hours with a stranger seems a long time for a first date, there are differences of opinions, family dramas, misunderstandings, whatever can goes wrong, does go wrong. Plenty of twists and turns make this a fun and enjoyable read.

A cleverly thought out plot. I particularly loved that Saffie, Milo and Tamara's search for love offered three individual stories intertwined within one book, not to be missed.

This book was delightful.

Right from the beginning I was invested in all three characters, though Saffie was absolutely my favourite. The plot is very clear, all three characters have had bad experiences with dating, they're all keen to find 'the one' and they're all open to try something new, though Saffie is certainly masking this using her career as a safety net to not get hurt.

I felt like Milo, Saffie and Tamara were all relatable characters, we've all been through something fairly similar and as a 30yo woman I really understood the feelings and the reasonings behind these character decisions.

I loved watching the story unfold, I liked the little turns along the way. I loved the character development and I absolutely loved how it all ended.

This was a really magical book and an easy recommendation for romance lovers.

The 24-hour Dating Agency follows three friends on their quest to find true love after a lifetime of disappointments. You will get all their point of views told in third-person.

Saffie, Milo and Tamara all work for The Throstler’s, a quirky magazine in North Yorkshire. After all the letdowns, they’re ready to find Mr.Right.

While romance isn’t the main focus this book has its own quirky spark that hooks you to know more about these characters. It could be their crazy lives or their love life problems.

Thank you Head of Zeus and NetGalley for providing and ARC of this book.

3.5

Thank you to Netgallery & Head of Zeus/Aria for the ARC

I expected this to be a romance, however it was much more than that, it focuses on three friends who decide to join a dating agency which promises to find you your soulmate after 24 hours, the three characters all have a completely different dating history and preferences. I do wish these were maybe 3 separate books, or we got more of everyone's story just cause I was really enjoying all the separate insights into their lives but I didn't feel like I could connect with any of the characters because the stories were so short! But I do love a fast paced book so I can't complain too much, I did basically finish it in one sitting cause I wanted to know more!

This one was interesting. Thank you to the Aria and Net Galley for the eARC!

I really wanted to connect with this one, but the triple storylines made this difficult to connect with and follow. While I do love the depth of these characters, especially Tamara, I sadly didn’t love this like I wanted to.

The 24 hour dating agency is such a cool concept, I just wish we followed one character’s viewpoint (Milo’s) in first person.

Three friends working for a quirky magazine are having a rough week. Between relationship breakdowns, exes coming out of the woodwork, and news that the magazine is getting a new owner - they are feeling the pressure. They stumble across a novel concept - a dating agency that sends potential matches on a 24 hour date, with a money back soul mate guarantee. The three of them decide to sign up with differing motives - for an undercover article, for a hoot, and out of desperation. This unexpected experience shows them that what they need is not always what they think.

Mary Jayne Baker's novel was a light romance. With three protagonists each hoping for a happily ever after, there is plenty to cheer for.

The novel served as a nice escape, and I found myself powering through it. Certainly worth a read.

The 24 Hour Dating Agency
by Mary Jayne Baker

Long term work colleagues and friends Tamara Saffie and Milo search for the perfect partner/love match after all have a disastrous history trying . They spot an advert for the 24hr dating agency that claims to find the perfect match for you. Follow the 3 jaded middle aged friends journey to find their perfect match in a 24 hour dating agency.

An amazing well written book.

The characters are fabulous , the dramas, the humour, trials and tribulations of it all and they are very true to life situations.

Best romcom in a while read in one sitting.